BAP and ADC on Trump's proposal to occupy and depopulate Gaza + news

The "Margolis Lecture: Antisemitism and Free Speech in Modern America" will be February 13th at 5:30pm at UNC's Stone Center; organized by UNC's Carolina Center for Jewish Studies and the Department of Religious Studies -- jewishstudies.unc.edu/event/loeffler/ The announcement says "In 1949 a five-day pogrom rocked Chicago and led to a revolutionary First Amendment ruling by the US Supreme Court."

I hadn't heard about this; the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies claims that students, presumably Jewish, said (not alleged) that they had been harassed at a Muslim Students Association meeting in the Frank Porter Graham Student Union on January 29th, and the statement refers to "intimidation based on religious identity." -- jewishstudies.unc.edu/2025/01/statement-january-31-2025

robertjprince.net/2025/02/06/31648/

On avian influenza in captive ostriches and other animals: merylnass.substack.com/p/which-arbitrary-path-should-be-followed

covertactionmagazine.com/2025/02/06/scandinavians-the-worlds-happiest-people-love-killing-for-the-usa-part-vi/

covertactionmagazine.com/2025/02/05/silent-propaganda-on-u-s-imperialism-breeds-confused-americans/

covertactionmagazine.com/2025/01/30/rwanda-invades-drc-on-behalf-of-the-corporate-critical-minerals-supply-chains/

covertactionmagazine.com/2025/02/03/keith-harmon-snow-was-a-courageous-investigative-journalist-who-exposed-lies-regarding-the-rwandan-genocide/

covertactionmagazine.com/2025/02/01/american-indian-movement-leader-leonard-peltier-finally-freed-from-prison-in-last-minute-move-by-biden-administration/

Originally from 972+ magazine: portside.org/2025-02-07/damage-trumps-gaza-plan-has-already-been-done

electronicintifada.net/blogs/asa-winstanley/army-was-ordered-kill-israelis-7-october-defense-minister-confirms and asawinstanley.substack.com/p/army-was-ordered-to-kill-israelis

patrianuestra.wordpress.com/2025/02/07/cuba-1899-entre-el-engano-y-la-frustracion-2/

www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/02/bidens-environmental-record/

"A Former Danish Diplomat on the Future of Greenland:" www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/02/a-former-danish-diplomat-on-the-future-of-greenland/

www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/the-right-to-remain-in-the-face-of-genocide/

www.counterpunch.org/2025/01/26/the-palestine-exception-film-as-a-form-of-cultural-work-that-facilitates-movement-building/

www.counterpunch.org/2025/01/26/canadas-nazi-problem/

By NCSU sociology professor emeritus Michael Schwalbe: www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/the-palestine-exception-to-free-speech-is-un-american/

www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/no-other-land-forces-a-reckoning-with-the-israeli-occupation/

www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/oscar-castillo-among-the-tarahumara-and-raramuris/

www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/crimes-against-humanity-past-and-present/

www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/violence-in-its-natural-state-palestines-moment/

www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/as-china-and-the-u-s-race-toward-a-i-armageddon-does-it-matter-who-wins/

On Ryanair: www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/why-fly-in-europe-the-dark-triumph-of-the-ryanair-effect/

www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/the-hasbaras-foot-soldiers/

www.counterpunch.org/2025/02/07/roaming-charges-whos-the-boss/

consortiumnews.com/2025/02/06/craig-murray-un-censures-uk-abuse-of-terrorism-act/

consortiumnews.com/2025/02/06/greenland-bans-foreign-political-donations/

consortiumnews.com/2025/02/06/us-border-industrial-complexs-bipartisan-boom/

consortiumnews.com/2025/02/05/netanyahu-traps-trump-in-quagmire/

consortiumnews.com/2025/02/04/trump-wants-us-to-take-over-ethnically-cleanse-gaza/

consortiumnews.com/2025/02/04/probing-uk-special-forces-war-crimes-in-afghanistan/

consortiumnews.com/2025/02/07/the-chris-hedges-report-arab-regimes-the-betrayal-of-palestine/

consortiumnews.com/2025/02/07/medhurst-detained-by-austrian-police-accused-of-being-hamas-member-uk-investigation-against-him-extended/

consortiumnews.com/2025/02/06/trump-wants-more-war-for-gaza-ploy/

thefloutist.substack.com/p/all-the-gloves-come-off-in-gaza

diario-octubre.com/2025/02/07/rusia-nuevas-elecciones-son-la-peor-pesadilla-de-zelenski/

diario-octubre.com/2025/02/07/la-solucion-de-adentro-hacia-afuera-del-mayor-showman-geopolitico/

diario-octubre.com/2025/02/07/la-usaid-ha-financiado-9-de-cada-10-medios-ucranianos/

caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2025/02/08/civil-rights-are-being-destroyed-throughout-the-west-in-service-of-israel/

the307.substack.com/p/the-global-lawfare-campaign-against

thepolemicist.substack.com/p/trumps-exemplary-gaza-plan

“'To maintain my voice as an artist … I must decline this award': Arab-American artist Fareed Armaly declines prestigious German art prize over censorship of pro-Palestinian voices" -- www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/02/08/mwwq-f08.html

"British independent journalist Richard Medhurst raided and detained by Austrian authorities" -- www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/02/07/wsqx-f07.html

"Australian Labor PM accedes to Coalition on sweeping 'hate speech' laws" -- www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/02/08/mnhc-f08.html

"Canadian government refuses to condemn Trump’s proposal for ethnic cleansing of Gaza" -- www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/02/08/pibk-f08.html

geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/trump-gaza-real-estate-family

Black Alliance for Peace Condemns Trump’s
Declaration of War on Palestine

Signals a New Epoch of Western Settler Colonialism

February 5, 2025 — Last night, President Trump named what many of us have known for some time – the intentions of the United States to complete the State of Israel’s final solution by announcing his plans to resettle Gazans and assume U.S. control and ownership of the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

In signaling the U.S. imperial initiative, Trump has also revealed that the U.S. cannot be seen as a trusted partner or leader in pursuing global stability and peace. Indeed, the cognitive dissonance and moral infirmity associated with the U.S. colonial, imperialist mindset, driven by the sickness of white “supremacy” ideology, is now irrefutably elucidated. As Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) founder and Coordinating Committee member Ajamu Baraka noted, “The Russians and Chinese must learn the lesson that the peoples and nations of the global South learned decades ago, and that is that the U.S. is a lunatic state that can't be reasoned with.” He continued, “The Russians should have learned this with Ukraine. But if the Chinese believe that they can keep their heads down and allow the U.S. to destroy peoples and nations, it is only a matter of time before the barbarians will be at their gates."

This is nothing more than a continuation of the U.S.’s own settler colonial experiment that includes the extermination, ethnic cleansing, and displacement of Indigenous peoples from their sovereign homelands that commenced in the 15th century and continues today. And the idea that even the most reactionary Arab governments would accept such a non sequitur proposal continues the same amateur, inefficacious, and wanton approach to foreign policy we observed under Biden, Blinken, Austin, and other Democrat party agents who were complicit in funding and arming Israel’s genocidal war machine 15 months before Trump assumed control of the White House.

To this end, BAP admonishes those who seek to use this as an opportunity to evoke the idea that conditions would be better if the U.S. government were currently controlled by Harris and the Democrat Party. For such a silly and sophomoric proclamation ignores the fact that it was a Democrat-controlled government that vetoed numerous United Nations ceasefire resolutions, allocated billions of dollars to support genocide and ethnic cleansing, and enjoined the conclusions of the International Criminal Court (ICC) when it rightfully asserted that the State of Israel had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. It should not be at all surprising that Prime Minister Netanyahu is the first convicted war criminal to be invited to, and enjoy the pomp and circumstance of, the Oval Office.

For those who believe that the Democrats would be any better if they emerged victorious from the 2024 elections, BAP would ask, has there been any indignation or semblance of disapproval from leaders of the Democrat Party, including, but not limited to, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi or its Black Misleadership Class representatives Jim Clyburn or House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries? Have any Democrats called for an immediate arms embargo and economic sanctions against the State of Israel? Have any Democrats pledged to block the use of the military to carry out Trump’s feckless and illegal pogrom? Has the new leadership of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) declared it will no longer accept donations from or allow for the American Israel Political Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to influence its primaries?

It should be noted that Trump’s Gaza Grab Declaration would require the use of U.S. military force, which would be a violation of International Law, the Geneva Convention, and the basic tenets of human rights. To this end, BAP calls on the Congressional Progressive Caucus, as well as the Congressional Black Caucus, to immediately denounce previous Democrat Party stances on Gaza and to do all within their constitutional authority to proactively block the use of any U.S. military forces to carry out Trump’s plans. Furthermore, as using the military to colonize and occupy Gaza would be an illegal act and in itself a war crime, BAP reminds all U.S. military personnel of their duty to reject any and all unlawful orders pursuant to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

The world is awakened, the Palestinian resistance and pursuit of their liberation is more ubiquitous and unwavering than ever, and global solidarity with Palestine remains inexorable.

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Sent out by email in mid-afternoon on the 5th:

ADC's Statement on President Trump's Remarks on Gaza

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) vehemently denounces President Donald Trump’s recent statements calling for the forced expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza and the deployment of American troops to seize and “own” the territory. President Trump brazenly dismisses the more than 62,000 Palestinians already slaughtered, referring to Gaza as a mere construction site waiting to be redeveloped. His rhetoric flouts every principle of justice and dignity and defies international law and human rights.

President Trump’s proposal to deploy American soldiers to forcibly remove millions of Palestinians and occupy Gaza is reckless, counterproductive, and illegal. Neither the U.S. nor Israel has sovereignty over Gaza, and forced displacement will only deepen the ongoing dispossession Palestinians have endured since 1948, 1967, and beyond. This operation will also inflame regional tensions, jeopardize countless lives, and destroy any path to peace or stability. President Trump’s plan tramples on his campaign promise not to entangle American forces in new wars. The U.S. must refuse to become complicit in further violence and injustice.

Ethnic cleansing is a crime against humanity – the United States and the international community must condemn it without hesitation. Palestinians have endured decades of displacement, occupation, and violence; further atrocities against them cross every moral and legal line. Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and other global allies reject this scheme, underscoring how President Trump’s reckless agenda isolates the United States and undermines any chance of genuine peace.

Palestinians deserve to live in freedom, security, and peace, free from expulsions, occupations, or foreign agendas that treat their home as a bargaining chip. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and reaffirm our commitment to justice and the protection of human rights for all. ADC will continue to oppose every effort to dehumanize, displace, or harm Palestinians or any marginalized community.

Enough is enough. Our elected officials must end this trajectory toward more bloodshed, and champion a future rooted in respect for human rights and dignity, for all.

ADC calls on all political leaders to denounce this hateful, destructive rhetoric and hold President Trump accountable. We urge the international community to stand firm against any policy that violates human rights or enables crimes against humanity.

About ADC

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is the largest Arab American grassroots organization in the U.S., founded in 1980 by former Senator James Abourezk. ADC’s mission is to defend and promote the human rights, civil rights, and liberties of at least 3.7 million Arab Americans residing in the United States. Through its work, ADC fights discrimination in the U.S., enhances public understanding of Arab history and culture, and partners with marginalized communities globally to advance social justice.

Our work is not possible without your support. Consider making a contribution to ADC today.

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Durham Spark - Durham, North Carolina, USA

Friday, February 14, 2025